| "Such portents were all across Jamuraa in those days, before the war was upon us. A few were frightening; an occasional whirlwind was the least of it. But the others--the early crops and abundant harvests, rain when the soil needed it the most--these were warnings that we should prepare for the worst, that we were in the lion's eye and the lion might not blink. The sun shone brightly on Jamuraa in those days, it is so very true, but even the greatest light must throw some shadow. In that shadow moved dark creatures from other lands, and somewhere behind them were their dark masters. Before it was over, every soldier, every merchant, every sailor would feel the untidy influences of anger, death, and war.
"But what about Fola? Well, Fola had much more pressing and personal business than bone-cast omens to tend at this time." |